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FLORENCE, Ala. – Kennesaw State bounced back in strong fashion on Wednesday night, holding North Alabama to just 38% shooting from the floor on the way to a 79-66 road victory to stay in tie for first place in the ASUN in men's college basketball action from CB&S Bank Arena. The Owls moved to 22-8 on the year and 14-3 in conference play to stay tied with Liberty at the top of the league. KSU has already clinched a top-two finish in the conference, and a win in the regular season finale on Friday would give the Owls both at least a share of the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in next week's ASUN Tournament.
OWL OF THE GAME: Senior
Demond Robinson, an Alabama native, was outstanding in his return to his home state. He recorded his third double-double of the season with 17 points off 7-of-10 shooting to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls shot 50.8% for the night, hitting 31-of-61 from the field and was 8-of-21 from three-point land for 38.1%. UNA meanwhile was limited to 22-of-58 shooting (37.9%), and 9-of-25 from downtown (36%).
THE FIRST HALF: It was a tight battle for the majority of the half with several lead changes. A 9-0 run gave the Lions a 21-20 advantage, and the home team went up 30-25 with 6:50 to play. They would not hit another field goal until the final minute of the half, as KSU would go on a 16-2 run to take the lead for good. Four different Owls scored during the run, and a Robinson layup made the score 41-32 for KSU before the Lions converted a layup in the final minute.
THE SECOND HALF: The Lions closed within five points, 44-39, with 17:59 to go in the game. KSU responded by forcing turnovers on back-to-back possessions and scoring off both to ignite a 19-4 run that gave the Owls a commanding 20-point edge with 9:15 to play. The Lions made several attempts at a run but the closest they came was within 11 points with just over a minute to play
POST-GAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH AMIR-ABDUR-RAHIM
"It was a good night for the Kennesaw State Owls. I'm kind of a loss for words, to be honest, sitting here reflecting how far our program has come. Really proud of our group for being able to get refocused after a loss, to get reconnected and come on the road and get a really good road win against a good and well coached North Alabama team.
"
Demond Robinson continues to be a presence for us when we need him, especially tonight playing in his home state of Alabama. I was really pleased with our balance tonight, having four guys in double-figures and two more between seven-eight points. I thought we did a great job of really hanging our hats on the defensive end of the court, to hold them to 37% from the game, 36% from three, and to outbound them by six, really proud of our group. Really impressed and proud of our group and now we have one more big game Friday night. So recovery starts now and we start to prepare for Central Arkansas."
NOTES
- KSU's 22
nd win of the season extends the school record (Division I era) for most wins in a season, as the previous record was 14 in 2016-17. It also surpasses the Owls' total wins from the previous three seasons combined (19).
-The Owls' 14
th ASUN win also extends the new school standard, topping the 2006-07 team that went 10-10 in the conference.
-
Chris Youngblood led the Owls in scoring with 19 points. Also in double-figures was
Terrell Burden with 12 points and
Brandon Stroud with 10.
-The Owls held a 38-32 edge on the boards, including 20-12 in the second half. KSU also finished with a 38-22 advantage on points in the paint.
-Burden recorded two steals in the win, moving him into fifth place all-time at KSU with 118 in his career.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls will stay on the road to close out the regular season, making its first-ever trip to Conway, Ark., to face Central Arkansas on Friday, Feb. 24. The game will tip at 8 p.m. (EST), and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
